Paolo Sorrentino had already proven himself to be a filmmaker of great visual flair in his previous films The Consequences of Love and Il Divo, movies which offered rich and complex characters beneath their gorgeous-looking exterior. With The Great Beauty Sorrentino upped the ante in the visuals department and crafted a stunningly-realised vision of contemporary Rome at its most decadent and conflicted, following the life of an ageing writer and socialite Jep Gambardella (Toni Servillo) as he reflects on his life following his birthday. While it may not quite reach the giddy heights of Federico Fellini's masterpieces La Dolce Vita and 8 1/2, with which it has been compared, this is still virtuoso filmmaking of the highest order and there's little doubt that it will be remembered as such in the decades to come.
